1951 Becoming the first black [athlete] to play for the White Sox, Minnie Minoso makes his debut hitting a home run against the Yankees' Vic Raschi in his first plate appearance for the club. The speedy outfielder, who had previously played with Cleveland Indians, bats .326 (173 hits) and leads league in stolen bases and triples, but loses out to Yankee infielder Gil McDougald for Rookie of the Year Award honors.
(Of course, Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier four years earlier and Elston Howard debuted four years later.)
Three cheers for The Cuban Comet! Mr. Minoso is still with us; in fact, he was at Wrigley Field on Opening Day just a few weeks ago for the unveiling of a statue of Ernie Banks.
Doncha hate it when you write a post and a whole day goes by without a comment?
ReplyDeleteSo here, Mons, is a comment: "Baby, you're the greatest."